Litti is a dough ball made from whole wheat flour, stuffed with sattu (roasted gram flour) mixed with garlic, ginger, onions, coriander leaves, lime juice, carom seeds, nigella seeds, and mustard oil. Traditionally, it is cooked over a coal fire, giving it a distinct smoky flavour.
Chokha is prepared by mashing boiled vegetables, typically eggplant, tomatoes, and potatoes, mixed with garlic, green chilies, mustard oil, and various spices to enhance the flavour.
So today was the day when I entered kitchen to try my hands to prepare this. I was little apprehensive about the output so this was a trial and the only receipient who volunteered to compromise her regular lunch and waited till 4.00pm to eat was Abha, my wife. I had hinted about it to a couple of friends but they didn't seem quite enthusiastic about it, now I feel that it's their loss as the outcome was quite authentic, as endorsed by the only person who tasted and approved of it (other than me).
Getting inspition from Chef Bhupi, I looked at his recipe for Litti Chokha and began my preparation.
The ingredients are:
(for two persons).
for chokha:
Round or egg shaped brinjal - 2 (medium size) approx weight 500 gms.
garlic -4 cloves
green chilli - 2
onion - 1 medium size
coriandar leaves - a bunch of 100 gms
Lemon - 1 small
mustard oil - two table spoons
table salt - 1/2 tea spoon
potato - 1 medium size
for chutney:
Tomato - 1 medium size
Onion - 1 medium size
Garlic - 1 bulb medium size
green chillis - 3
corriender leaves - 50 gms
red chilli powder - 1/2 tea spoon
table salt - 1/2 tea spoon
lemon - 1/2 small size
for Litti:
Wheat flour ( coarse atta preferred)- two cups approx 200 gms,
ghee - 3 table spoon,
table.salt - 1/ tea spoon,
water - 50 ml or as needed.
for litti filling:
Sattu( gram flour not besan) - 2 cups approx 200 gms.
onion - 1 medium size
green chilli - 3 medium size
coriendar - 50 gms
lemon - 1/2 small
red chilli powder - 1/ 2 tea spoon
table salt - 1/2 tea spoon
turmeric powder - 1/2 tea spoon
mustard oil - 2 table spoon
Take the round brinjal (bharta baingan) and give a small cut on both sides and check for worms (there shouldn't be any). Put 6-8 garlic cloves, 2-3 green chillis in the brinjal and putnit on low to medium flame (ideally this process should be done on a coal stove). Keep roatating till the brinjal skin is burnt and it becomes soft. Let it cool for 10 mins.
Now put the tomato, onion and garlic bulb on the stove flame till their skin is burnt. Rotate them so that the skin is burnt uniformly. Remove and let it cool for 10 mins.
Take wheat flower in a bowl and add 1/2 tea spoon salt and 3-4 table spoons of ghee, mix the mixture and prepare a hard dough..Put it aside for 10 mins.
Remove the burnt skin of brinjal and chop the soft cooked brinjal with garlic and chilli inside it. Add the boiled potato, green chilli, chopped onion, coriadar leaves mustard oil, salt, squeeze lemon and mix it...your chokha is now ready.
For chutney, remove the burnt skin from tomato, onion and garlic and put them in a mixer jar, add 3-4 green chilli, coriandar, red chilli powder, salt, squeeze lemon and run is for a minute, don't make it very fine. Your chutney is now ready.
Now for the filling. Put sattu in a bowl add chopped onion, geen chilli, coriandar leaves, squeeze some lemon, red chilli powder , turmeric poder and mustard oil and mix it. Make small balls of this mixture. This would make about 8 balls for 8 litti.
By now the dough has rested for over 15 minutes, punch it down and make 8 small balls. Flaten the dough in your palm and put the filling(ball) and close it gently..Now younhave eight dough balls/litti filled with sattu. Put them on the coal stove on slow flame, if you are using electric oven preheat it for 10 mins at 200°C. Set the over for upper and lower element hearing. Now put the raw litti and set temp between 200-220 and cook it for 30 minutes. Turn littis half way through to ensure uniform cooking. It should turn light brown, of not run for another 10 minutes. Your litti is now ready to be dipped in ghee.
Happy cooking!
Pradeep Joshi
Delhi
November 30, 2025
